


Unwritten

by river_soul



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-05-30
Updated: 2014-05-30
Packaged: 2018-01-27 13:59:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,177
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1713167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/river_soul/pseuds/river_soul
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Elizabeth is injured on an off world mission and Lorne sees something he shouldn’t.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Unwritten

Lorne was sitting on the hospital bed, two fingers pressed against the unraveling stitches in his side when he heard Elizabeth. Her voice was soft, full of a tiredness they all felt from their earlier mission. They weren’t expecting it to go smoothly, things rarely did in the Pegasus Galaxy but it’d gone spectacularly bad for her first real time off world. He’d read about Kolya and the Genii and seen her strong and sure within the walls of the Ancients and on worlds far away. She was not weak, not helpless but he could not forget the way she had looked, lying on the ground, wet, gasping breaths pushing through her reddened teeth.

“Oh,” had been all she’d said as she clutched her abdomen, body seizing as her fingers, bloody and claw like, gripped Ronon’s pant leg. When her eyes rolled back he had thought she’d been dead.

John had cradled Elizabeth in his arms as Teyla helped Lorne through the gate, the last thing they saw before crossing the event horizon was Ronon’s sword, glimmering bright in the sun as it arched downward into the Genii traitor. Lorne had passed out before Ronon had come back but the gate technicians still whispered about his return _did you see all that blood on him? My god._

He’d woken hours later, groggy and sore, to find his team and Sheppard’s crowded around the back section of the infirmary. Carson gave him a bleary smile, scrubs bloodied. “You’re alright son,” he said, patting his arm.

”Weir,” he’d croaked.

“She’s here. She’s alive,” he assured, stepping back so Lorne could see her still figure, pale and drawn, laid out on a hospital bed beside his. Teyla was beside her, fingers intertwined, speaking lowly and Sheppard and McKay were sleeping, still in full gear at the end of the bed. Ronon stood at the far end of the infirmly as sentry, pant leg still bloody and face impassive.

Lorne struggled to sit up but a gentle, firm hand pressed him down. “You’re an awful patient,” said a voice to his left and he turned, smiling faintly at Lt. Cadman’s bemused expression. “Get some sleep sir,” she ordered and Stackhouse and Portman, who where hovering behind her, grinned in amusement. Lorne found he was too tired to chastise them. He tried to stave off the fatigue that was threatening to wash over him but his vision was blurry and eventually he succumbed to sleep.

When he woke again the infirmary was mostly deserted. The curtain around Elizabeth’s bed had been pulled, the chairs where McKay and Sheppard sat were sat empty and the shadow that moved behind the pale curtain was not Teyla’s.

Lorne glanced to his left, gaze settling on Novak’s slight frame, soft snores escaping between her parted lips. Warmth blossomed in his chest at the small hand she’d placed over his. She huffed in her sleep and tossed her head uneasily before her eyes opened, a tired smile drawing her lips up. “Hey,” he said quietly.

“Hey,” she returned with a smile. “Do you need something?” she asked, clearing her throat and sitting up quickly. “Water?”

“It’d be nice,” he said and watched her leave. He could hear her talking quietly with Cadman and Beckett, the warm tones of their voices coming from somewhere behind him as Lorne concentrated on the steady beep of Elizabeth’s monitor. It was smooth and even but he remembered the way she’d looked spread over the bed before and felt worry blossom in his chest. He rose carefully, grimacing as he felt the stitches in his side pull. He sat on the edge of his bed, feet dangling above the floor while he waited for the fire in his belly to quell before he moved.

He wasn’t use to weakness.

The floor was like ice on his feet and he felt feeble and unsteady as he moved towards Elizabeth’s bed. He stopped a few feet away, near a gap in the curtains. He was surprised to see she was awake and not alone. Ronon was standing beside her, stiff and angry, tension lining the muscles of his arms and neck.

“Ronon,” Elizabeth said softly after a moment, voice rough and pained as she blinked back a grimace. “It wasn’t your fault. I’m alive. I’m fine,” she said.

Lorne saw her hand rest over his and watched something subtle and quiet shift inside Ronon. “I’m safe because of you,” she said and he took a step forward towards her bed, towering over her.

The muscles along his jaw tensed when she gave a stuttering gasp, eyes fluttering. His face was impassive and stern but Lorne watched the uncertainty in the jerky movement of his hand and the fear in his eyes. “Do you need…” he started but she cut him off with an effective wave of her hand.

“I am fine,” she said finally and Lorne could read a deep weariness in the lines of her face. She sighed and she sank back into the bed, deflated. Lorne was surprised when Ronon leaned closer to Elizabeth, touched the side of her face, fingertips barely ghosting over sharp cheekbones with a gentleness he didn’t think the larger man was capable of.

“You’re safe,” he said, more to himself then her and Elizabeth gave a soft sigh under his touch as Lorne was struck by how frail, how slight and pale she truly was. Compared with Ronon, tall and dark beside her, she looked young and delicate. She had no place on the front line. It had been their job to protect her and they had failed.

“Carson,” she said suddenly, eyes still closed, “said I can go home next week. I was wondering,” she started and Lorne was struck by the uncertainty in her voice. “I was wondering…I mean to say, John said you were good with strength training and I thought maybe you could hel -”

“I’ll be there,” he said, cutting her off abruptly. His face was still and silent but his eyes were alive as they roamed her face. _I will not fail you again,_ they said and Lorne suddenly felt as though he’d intruded on something private. He stumbled back to his bed, side burning with effort. He just managed to swing his legs over when Carson and Cadman appeared, followed closely by Novak with a cup clutched in her hands. She looked stricken at the sight of him and the blood seeping through the white cotton of the hospital scrubs.

“I think I pulled my stitches,” he said lamely and Carson and Novak fussed over him as Cadman looked on amused. He was treated to a lecture about what constituted a good patient before his Lieutenant and the good Doctor left him alone with Novak.

“You’re an idiot,” she said with a soft, concerned smile. “Everything ok?” she asked, hand on his arm/

“Yeah,” he said after a minute, fingers intertwining with hers and she followed his gaze as it drifted to Elizabeth’s bed and Ronon shadow. “Yeah it is.”  
 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! Also, new [tumblr](http://river-soul.tumblr.com/) friends are always welcome!


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